Anthony Joshua (AP Photo)

Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was hospitalised in Nigeria on Monday after being involved in a road accident that claimed the lives of two close friends and team members, his promoter confirmed. Joshua, 35, sustained injuries in the crash but is in a stable condition and remains under observation.

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Matchroom Boxing and 258 BXG can confirm that Anthony sustained injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital for checks and treatment. He is in a stable condition and will remain there for observation,” Matchroom Boxing said in a statement. The promoter later identified the two fatalities as Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. “With profound sadness it has been confirmed that two close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele have tragically passed away,” the statement added.

Police said the accident occurred around 11:00 am local time in Makun, along the busy Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, a major route linking Ogun State to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Lexus SUV carrying Joshua was suspected to have been travelling above the prescribed speed limit. “The vehicle lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre and crashed into a stationary truck by the side of the road,” the FRSC said.Photos circulating on social media showed Joshua being assisted from the wreckage, visibly in discomfort. Ogun State Police confirmed that Joshua, who was seated in the rear of the vehicle, suffered minor injuries and was receiving medical attention alongside another injured person.

People gather at the accident scene of Anthony Joshua in Lagos, Nigeria. (Federal Road Safety Corps via AP)

A joint statement from the Lagos and Ogun state governments said medical evaluations indicated that both patients admitted after the crash were stable and did not require emergency intervention. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu also spoke to Joshua by phone, offering condolences and wishing him a speedy recovery.Joshua, whose parents are from southwestern Nigeria, is a regular visitor to the country. Earlier this month, the two-time world champion knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a Netflix-backed bout in Miami. Talks have also been ongoing over a potential mega-fight with Tyson Fury in 2026.

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday arrested an ISIS sympathiser in Texas over attempts to provide bomb-making components and money to individuals he believed were acting on behalf of a designated foreign terrorist organization.FBI chief Kash Patel said that 21-year-old John Michael Garza Jr allegedly shared ISIS propaganda, sent cryptocurrency believing it would fund terrorist activity.

“The FBI and our partners have arrested a 21-year-old alleged ISIS sympathizer in Texas – following a terrorism investigation into attempts to provide bomb-making components and financial support to a designated foreign terrorist organization,” Patel said.“The subject allegedly shared ISIS propaganda, sent cryptocurrency believing it would fund terrorist activity, and attempted to deliver materials intended for explosive devices. This is radical Islamic terrorism, and it was identified and stopped. Great work by our FBI teams and great law enforcement partners,” he added.According to FBI, Garza brought various bomb-making materials to a meeting on Monday evening and gave them to an individual he allegedly believed was an ISIS “brother.”However, in reality, Garza met with an undercover agent.During the meeting, Garza described how to mix the components and offered to send an instructional video explaining how to build the bomb. Law enforcement agents arrested Garza shortly after he left the meeting.“According to the complaint, in mid-October 2025, an undercover New York City Police Department employee noticed a particular social media account — later determined to be Garza’s — that followed several other pro-ISIS accounts and wrote a comment on a pro-ISIS post. When the NYPD undercover engaged with Garza on social media, Garza described himself as a 21-year-old Mexican-American living in Texas,” FBI said in a press release.“In their continuing conversations throughout November and December, Garza shared that he ascribed to the ISIS ideology and sent the undercover multiple official ISIS media releases. Garza paid the undercover small sums of cryptocurrency in November and December 2025, believing that he was supporting ISIS causes, including buying firearms and other materials. Examples of ISIS media releases that Garza provided included,” it added.

Saudi Arabia early Tuesday bombed the Yemeni port city of Mukalla, saying it was targeting a shipment of weapons that had arrived from the United Arab Emirates for a separatist group. The strike marked a sharp rise in tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). It also added strain to the already uneasy relationship between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, who have supported different sides in Yemen’s long war against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.Saudi Arabia’s state news agency said the airstrikes were launched after two ships from Fujairah, a port in the UAE, arrived in Mukalla. The statement said the weapons unloaded from the ships posed a threat to security and stability, prompting a “limited military operation” to destroy them.The UAE has not yet commented on the strike.Mukalla lies in Yemen’s Hadramout region, which the STC recently captured. The city is about 480 kilometers northeast of Aden, the base of anti-Houthi forces since the rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.Tuesday’s attack follows Saudi airstrikes last Friday that analysts saw as a warning to the STC to stop its advances and withdraw from Hadramout and Mahra. The STC had earlier pushed out the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces from those areas.STC supporters have been increasingly raising the old South Yemen flag. South Yemen existed as a separate country between 1967 and 1990, and recent demonstrations have called for restoring that independence.These moves by the separatists have increased friction between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While both countries maintain close ties and work together in OPEC, they have been competing for influence and business in the region.At the same time, violence has also escalated in Sudan, another Red Sea country, where the two Gulf powers back rival sides in the ongoing conflict.

NEW DELHI: A thick blanket of fog enveloped the city on Tuesday morning, sharply reducing visibility and disrupting road traffic.The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 in the morning, placing it in the ‘very poor’ range, according to Central Pollution Control Board. According to the IMD, moderate to dense fog is expected to persist through Tuesday and Wednesday.

In a forecast bulletin, the department said very dense to dense fog conditions are likely to continue during night and morning hours over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and western Uttar Pradesh until 31 December, and over eastern Uttar Pradesh until 1 January, before gradually easing.Weather experts attributed the prolonged fog to a combination of calm winds, high humidity and clear skies. Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairman of private weather agency Skymet, said fog intensity had eased slightly but would continue for several days. “Moderate to dense fog will persist at least until January 1. Travel on highways will remain risky from late night until around 10am due to light winds, high humidity, low temperatures and clear skies,” he said.On Monday, the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.3°C, about two degrees above normal, while the maximum temperature reached 20.3°C. The IMD said minimum temperatures are likely to remain near normal over the next three days and may rise slightly from January 1. Daytime temperatures are expected to stay above normal, with light rain forecast on January 1.Air quality deteriorated further as the day progressed, slipping into the severe category by evening. The AQI touched 401 at 4pm, up from 390 the previous day. Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, Rohini and Anand Vihar were among the most polluted areas, recording AQI levels above 450.With foggy conditions set to continue, authorities expect air quality to remain in the very poor to severe range over the coming days, with January 1 likely to see another spell of severe pollution.

NEW DELHI: From French and Israeli-origin missiles to ‘Make in India’ kamikaze drones and counter-drone systems as well as range extension of existing missiles and artillery rockets, the defence ministry on Monday gave the preliminary nod to a slew of military modernisation projects worth Rs 79,000 crore. The biggest project to get acceptance of necessity, first step in long-winded procurement process, from the Rajnath Singh-led defence acquisitions council was Rs 30,000 crore purchase of a large number of missiles for Barak-8 medium range surface-to-air missile system, jointly developed with Israel, for IAF and Navy, sources told TOI.These missiles, with an interception range of over 70km, were used as part of the multi-layered air defence network that thwarted the multiple waves of Turkish drones and Chinese missiles fired by Pakistan during the cross-border hostilities in May. The DAC also approved the Rs 1,600-crore lease of two more MQ-9B ‘Predator’ high-altitude long endurance drones, which will add to the existing two being operated by the Navy for long-range surveillance missions, for three years. They will fill the gap till India gets the 31 armed MQ-9B remotely-piloted aircraft systems in 2029-30 under the $3.8 billion deal with the US in Oct last year. Another major project to get the nod was the long-pending over Rs 9,000-crore acquisition of six mid-air refuelling aircraft for IAF to extend operational reach of its fighter jets. “Under it, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will modify six second-hand Boeing 767 commercial planes into tankers. A fresh approval was required because the competition resulted in a single vendor situation,” a source said.Two crucial home-grown design and development projects to get the AoN were for range extensions of the Astra Mark-2 air-to-air missiles and Pinaka guided rocket ammunition. The Pinaka multiple launch artillery systems currently fire multi-calibre rockets with a variety of warheads up to ranges of 75 km. “Pinaka’s deep strike lethal capability is now being increased to 120 km. It was tested successfully on Sunday. In the future, it will be extended to 300 km,” a source said.DRDO is already working on enhancing the range of Astra missiles from the existing 100-km to 200-km. “IAF will initially order 600-700 Astra-2 missiles. There will also be a 350-km Astra-3 in the future. Indigenous long range air-to-air missiles are crucial,” another source said. “DAC also approved some additional French Meteor air-to-air missiles (120 to 150-km range) for Rafale fighters as well as Israeli guidance kits for Spice-1000 precision-guided bombs (125-km),” he added.AoN was also accorded for 850 kamikaze drones or loitering munitions for precision strikes for the Army’s new ‘Shaktibaan’ and ‘Divyastra’ artillery batteries for around Rs 2,000 crore. “They will be made in India either by domestic companies or with foreign collaboration,” the source said. The indigenous integrated drone detection & interdiction system Mark-2 (IDD&IS) systems, with 30-kilowatt lasers to disable, degrade or destroy small remotely-piloted aircraft and swarm drones at ranges up to 3.5-km, also got the green light.The overhauls of Mi-17 helicopters in Russia and T-90S main-battle tanks in India were also approved. So was the acquisition of low-level light weight radars, bollard-pull naval tugs, full mission simulators for Tejas jets, automatic take-off landing recording systems for IAF, and high-frequency software defined radios for long-range secure communications.

NEW DELHI: Starting Thursday, Australia is set to provide duty-free access to all Indian exports under the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Monday.“From Jan 1, 2026, 100% of Australian tariff lines will be zero-duty for Indian exports, unlocking fresh opportunities for labour-intensive sectors,” Goyal posted on his social media handle.The minister said over the past three years, ECTA has delivered sustained export growth, deeper market access, and stronger supply-chain resilience, benefiting Indian exporters, MSMEs, farmers and workers alike as India’s exports to Australia grew by 8% in 2024-25, helping improve India’s trade balance.“Strong gains were witnessed across manufacturing, chemicals, textiles, plastics, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, and gems & jewellery with gems & jewellery exports rising 16% in April-Nov 2025. Agri-exports recorded broad-based growth, with sharp increases in fruits and vegetables, marine products, spices, and exceptional growth in coffee,” the minister said.The ECTA, which came into force on Dec 29, 2022, aims to deepen trade and investment ties between India and Australia by progressively eliminating tariffs, simplifying market access, and supporting supply chain integration at a time when India is increasingly seeking to diversify export destinations after trade ties with the US strained in recent months.The minister further added that as both sides remain engaged in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), ECTA continues to anchor India’s economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific.